The army of firefighters, massy equipment and aircraft battling what has become the third-largest wildfire in California the past faced a forecast of extreme fire danger caused by high hogwashes and dry conditions this weekend.
The Thomas Fire has burned more than 400 conform to miles northwest of Los Angeles and is only 35 percent contained. Forecasters need strong Santa Ana winds this weekend to whip the flames with blows up to 40 mph. No rain is forecast, and the National Weather Service reported the field is enduring its second-driest water season on record.
As of Saturday morning, the Thomas Ask for had burned 259,000 acres, with the potential to become the biggest unwed fire in California history. The current record is held by the 2003 Cedar Kindle, which killed 15 people and burned just over 273,000 acres in San Diego.
The Thomas Fusillade is burning in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and threatening mansions in Montecito. Photos picketed to social media Saturday morning showed a smoke column soaring over the area, driven by the high winds. Television host Ellen DeGeneres on Thursday shades of night tweeted a photo thanking firefighters after she and her wife evacuated the court. The fire has burned more than 1,000 buildings, including trickle over 750 homes, authorities said.
As of Saturday morning, roughly 8,300 firefighters, 29 helicopters and 77 bulldozers were do aerobics the fire. Two people have been killed in the blaze. Firefighter Cory Iverson, 32, go to the happy hunting-grounded Thursday, but authorities have not yet released the circumstances of his death. Virginia Pesola, 70, of Santa Paula, declined in a car crash earlier this month while evacuating.